Sylvia & Me Sylvia Beckerman

Mix grit, resilience, cheerleading, persistence, passion, compassion and style and you get Risa Kostis. From a very young age a stage and cheerleading was in her future. That is until a car accident at 17 had her navigating a different course. One that would take all of her ingredients and push her to a place she could never have imagined.  The accident had left her with a traumatic brain injury and reconstructive facial surgeries. Self-taught, and determined, Risa is no longer the underdog. She is a celebrity stylist, stylist, and personal shopper. Risa helps women tell their story through what they wear, giving them confidence and letting them shine. She is also the CEO and Co-Founder of The Rescue Kit Company, a fashion emergency kit company.

Ashton Applewhite is a pro-aging advocate and author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism. She began blogging about ageism in 2007, speaking about it in 2012 and hasn't stopped. Aging is not a problem to be fixed or a disease to be cured. We live in a world that encourages us not to think about aging. It's time for a radical aging movement against ageism. And we need to start by confronting our own bias. Let's ask ourselves how do we feel about age and aging? It's difficult to go a day without seeing an ad for an anti-aging product or a new lifestyle to keep us young. We can't stop getting older, but we sure can embrace it. As Ashton says, we're all 'Old People In-Training'.

Ann Batchelder is the author of Craving Spring: A Mother’s Quest, a Daughter’s Depression, and the Greek Myth That Brought Them Together. Ann shares her story of her daughter’s journey with mental health and addiction. As mothers we are always looking for ways to be a ‘good’ mother. What if who we need to be is a ‘skilled’ mother? And learn how to ask for help.

New York Times Bestselling author Lyz Lenz is 'reframing' divorce and getting rid of the stigma. Her latest book, This American Ex-Wife: How I Ended My Marriage - and - Started My Life is a memoir/manifesto. Lyz debunks the myth of the 'happily ever' marriage scenario and gives us the straight talk about divorce. 'The stigma exists because everybody is afraid of a liberated woman'.

Just a girl from the Bronx. That’s Francine Farkas Sears, the first American businesswoman invited to China after President Nixon re-established trade relations. The groundbreaking trip included twenty-five men and Francine.

Francine's first leap into entrepreneurship began in her teens with a babysitting business. Her second was revolutionizing a salon armed with an idea, $1,000 cash, 7th Avenue and Pucci-like dresses. Next an entry level at Alexander’s Department store followed by a stint as a famed Wall Street stockbroker leading the path for women. Alexander’s called her back where she worked her way up to become Fashion Director and Vice President. Francine was simultaneously raising a young family. Today she is the proud mother of five grown children.

That girl from the Bronx turned herself into one of the most influential, successful women.

Frances Perkins is a woman I’ve come to know, admire and am in awe of through Stephanie Dray’s newest novel Becoming Madam Secretary. The first female cabinet member in U.S. history, she was Labor Secretary to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In a political time dominated by men, Frances Perkins was America’s leading advocate for workers’ rights and industrial safety. Fair Labor Standard Acts, Social Security…thank you Frances.